Foster parents of a part Native-American girl have filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court in the hopes of getting their daughter back. The child was recently taken away by social welfare authorities who cited a well-established federal law as basis for the seizure.
Members of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services took Lexi, 6, from her foster parents Rusty and Summer Page at their Santa Clarita home on Monday. Officials said the move was legally warranted as per the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
People noted that the law limits the separation of Native-American children from their birth relatives. Lexi, who is 1/64th Choctaw, was the subject of a placement order stating that she should be sent to live with her extended family and not be adopted nor place in foster care.
A press release by the National Indian Child Welfare Association stated that the Pages knew of Lexi's situation. They had consented to the terms of the temporary adoption when they accepted the then 17-month-old in late 2011. The Pages were Lexi's third foster parents after her birth mother was deemed unfit to be afforded custody while her birth father had a history of crime.
Fast-forward to 2016, the Pages just couldn't stand seeing the look on Lexi's eyes when social welfare authorities took her away. Rusty said the child was screaming "Don't let them take me." He reassured her "We're your mommy and daddy and we will fight for you and not give up."
Lori Alvino McGill, the Pages' lawyer, reasoned that Lexi isn't and shouldn't be covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act. She said the law was implemented to greatly reduce cases of Native-American communities being broken apart. Lexi, meanwhile, did not officially belong to any tribe. Her only connection to such a community is through her birth father's background.
"She was removed from an Hispanic mother, and just because her biological father has some Indian ancestry, a whole different set of rules apply to her placement," McGill argued. "And I would say it's a law that was passed with good intentions but has some arbitrary and harmful effects."
As of the moment, the "Keep Lexi Home" petition has already garnered 100,000 signatures online. There's also a GoFundMe page called "Save Our Lexi" which has raised over $30,000 for the family.
